[8:00 a.m.] In (John 14:1-12)

If you would remain standing for the reading of God's Word as we

continue in our study of the Gospel of John, we come to

chapter 14. We reading verses one through 12

today. This is John 14 verses one

through 12. These are Jesus's words for you

today. Let's not your hearts be

troubled. believe in God, believe also in me and my

father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, what I have

told you that that I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and

we'll take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also, and

you know the way to where I'm going.

Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going.

How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way

and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father

except through me. If you had known me, you would

have known my Father also. From now on You do know him and

have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show

us the Father and it is enough for us.

Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long and you still

do not know me? Philip, whoever has seen me has

seen the Father. How can you say show us the

Father? Do you not believe that I am in

the Father and the Father is in me?

The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own

authority, but the Father who dwells in me does.

His works believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is

in me, Or else I believe on account of the works themselves.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also

do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he

do, because I am going to the Father.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, you may be

seated before I get to the sermon.

I was greatly moved by Tommy's prayer for us this morning.

And even on a week where we have seen great tragedy in the Middle

East with what's happening, I was actually reminded by the

word of the hope of the gospel. And I don't know if you know

this fact or not, but this Chapel where you are sitting

right now in our denomination, the PCA was ordained the first

man in our in our presbytery, North Texas Presbytery, who came

from a Farsi speaking background originally.

His name is Hamid Hitami, he is a teaching elder, and our

presbytery and his ministry is a trained man for the work of

ministry in Iran. He does it online, many

secretly, many very dangerously. But even as we're praying for

the Iranian church in the midst of this conflict, you're sitting

in a place where God has showed us his hope of redemption.

It happened right here, and it was very exciting to be a part

of it. And so let that just thought

encourage you and encourage you as you pray for that part of the

world this week. One danger that can happen in

language is that because language is very social, often

phrases can become devoid of their original context.

You've done that before, right? You've heard a phrase and you

try to repeat it, and you kind of play the telephone game,

right? It's not quite the same version

that you heard that you're passing along.

It can take on a life that it was never meant to have.

We can lose a sense of its context.

And the results can be anything from kind of a loss of just

nuance or a loss of the fullness of the meeting to actually a

phrase that becomes the opposite of what it was meant to be in

the 1st place. I was reminded of an example of

this this week. I'm a I'm a big sports fan.

And so former UCLA Bruins football coach Red Sanders, he

was the one who coined the phrase with winning isn't

everything. It's used today, right?

All often. You probably used it yourself.

Winning isn't everything. We often use it as we console

perhaps a losing team. We remind them that, you know,

character and sportsmanship matter, and that there's

something more to life than just the sports games that can come

so over encompassing, all consuming in the moment.

The problem is that he didn't actually say the phrase in that.

In that way, his phrase actually went winning isn't everything.

It's the only thing. So if you're quoting him,

remember that the original meaning was actually to focus

his players to great intensity and tenacity on the field.

And that was the complete phrase.

In a similar way, I think we're kind of hitting at a similar

topic when we think about this passage of Scripture that we've

come to because there is a phrase in the Bible that many

people recognize from this passage.

John 14-6, right? I am the way, the truth and the

life. No one goes to the Father except

through me. I can remember this first.

It's special to me because it's one of the first verses in the

Bible that I ever read. I remember reading it in the

Knowing God Personally booklet .3 in that booklets and it's a,

it's a great verse to pull from it.

It's it explains the gospel clearly and in one verse.

I can even remember memorizing this verse in my days of

everyday evangelism in Italy, 'cause I was, I served as a

missionary in Italy. And you know, I, I had it

sketched into my memory. You have someone la via la

verita and la Vita and Zuno pull Vienna al Padre senon palmezzo

de May kind of sounds fancy in Italian, right?

La villa, la Vita, la verita, the way, the truth and the life.

And it's well applied in a gospel presentation.

But this morning, as you read it, I want to exhort you away

from the the danger of just making it about a gospel

outline. There's clarity in that gospel

outline, right? We need those clear moments,

especially as we're sharing our faith to no one who's ever heard

it before. But I don't want you to miss the

deep, deep theology that goes behind this verse.

And that is what the sermon title was meant to encapsulate

in one word. And that's in in the doctrine

that underlines this verse is the fact that we are in Christ,

our union with Christ undergirds.

It's a strong foundation in which Jesus says I am the way,

the truth and the life. And so this verse is kind of

emanating from this doctrine of our inness with Christ and which

comes from, as the text tells us, Christ's inness with the

Father. Our catechism explains it this

way. This is question #30 from our

Shorter Catechism. You can write down question #30

in your notes and make sure you look it up later.

How does the Spirit apply to us, the redemption purchased by

Christ? The answer The Spirit applies to

us the redemption purchased by Christ by working faith in US

and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

Calvin answers a similar question and that from his

institute, the 1st chapter of his first, the third book, that

as long as Christ remains outside of us and we are

separated from Him, all that He has suffered and done for the

salvation of the human race, it remains useless and of no value

to us. So we can only say that Jesus is

the way and the truth and the life in a way that matters that

have significance for our life in as much as we are united to

Christ. And so in this this morning, as

we look at this in, in three movements, I pray that you would

sense your unitedness to Christ, your reunion with him in the

hearts of the Savior in the way of salvation and in the Triune

God. So in the hearts of the Savior,

verses one through 4, in the way of salvation, verses 5 through

7, and in the Triune God verses 8 to 11.

So this verse one opens up with a pretty stark transition from

where we're coming from from chapter 13.

Let not your hearts be troubled. It lets us know that Jesus is

kind of beginning a new phase of his upper room discourse with

the disciples. And as we think about this first

point that we are in the heart of the Savior, this first verse

is is rather phenomenal to think about.

It should really wow us that in light of Jesus own denial that

is coming, he just proclaimed it right.

And at the end of chapter 13, his betrayal became before that

his eyes are focused on his disciples to say, let not your

hearts be troubled. And my first part of this is

that we are so focused on our own hearts, on our own troubles.

But from verse one, we see a picture of a Saviour whose heart

is focused on us. You see, in order to get us in,

Christ was immediately looking out out of the Godhead in order

to get us to see the peace, the freedom, the joy that comes from

life with Him. He then immediately in verse 2,

sets our minds and hearts on belief.

I'm sorry, it's actually the second-half of verse one, not

verse 2. Believe in God, believe also in

me. This is kind of an interesting

context in the Greek language, those belief verbs, it's

actually the same verb. And it's been a little bit

debated because in the Greek language, the indicative and the

imperative are they look the same in form.

So indicative, that's when you just stay, say a statement like

I believe in God, but the imperative, that's the commands,

right? Like believe in God.

And you see that kind of here in the text that this is actually a

command of Jesus. But the way that he uses these

two commands right next to each other, we actually know that the

second command is subordinates. It's under the first command.

It depends on the 1st command. So we must first believe in God.

And Jesus does that because even as he has spent time with his

disciples and as we go through the text, you'll see that their

belief in God is there. What is missing is sort of the

second part of that command. Believe also in me.

And so as he is trying to empathize with his disciples, he

knows that even as he has announced his betrayal, his

denial that their hearts are troubled, that the cure to that

trouble is belief in the one who can cure it, believe in God and

therefore also believe in me as his son.

And he goes on to say, my Father's house or many rooms, He

shows us more of what the hearts of the Savior is like.

Remember, they are around the table with Jesus.

They are in a room with him. And even as they're beginning to

remember the images of the Tabernacle, that place where

God's presence was in the Old Testament, even though it was

the rather large place, the dimensions of the Tabernacle

were actually quite immense. They're they're huge.

He's actually kind of giving an image of a picture of a house

that doesn't have an ending. His heart is for his disciples.

They're right there, but they get the picture of an ever

increasing scope of that heart. Something is about to change.

It's not finite. There are many rooms where He is

going to prepare a place for them.

So the hearts of the Savior is to show them that they have need

for Jesus, His presence there. His statement, let not your

hearts be troubled. He's showing them that that need

is met in belief and that that that belief is met with the hope

of the future that goes on and on and on, and that there's room

for many who believe in that house.

My first question for you this morning is what troubles you

this morning? Where do you find your hearts

being troubled? I was greatly humbled by this

thought because I think sometimes we see a picture here

of the disciples being troubled in face of the betrayal of their

Savior. My troubles are so much less.

The things I find my heart dwelling on are not often the

things of the Savior and where He is going and what that means

for me. It's often on earthly things,

what's going to happen next. But my mind was renewed.

It was focused on what our hearts really should be troubled

on. And that is, how is Jesus going

to make this all work? Now we know what that's

happening, right? We have the end of the story,

but that's what He's first kind of telling us is really we're

supposed to interact with Him. So verses 5 through 7, in the

way of salvation. Even though Jesus has told us

that we are going with him to our Father's house, we sometimes

aren't sure and thus don't know where we are going and therefore

don't know how to get there. But Jesus shows us Thomas's

doubt in verse 5. He wants an unambiguous

destination, something he can touch and feel.

Remember Thomas's story later on in the Gospel?

He wants something unambiguous. But we see this pointed out that

really Jesus has already said this in the text, right?

He said that they don't know in verse four that they don't know

where Jesus is going, even though He's already told them

that, right? He's going to prepare a place

for them. He's told them about the

destination, but now he's telling us in verse 6 the way to

get there, and that is through him.

Jesus does not simply blaze a trail, commanding others to take

the way that he himself takes. Rather, he shows them that he is

the way. You see, I think that's a big

difference between religion and relationship.

In this text, religion tries to imitate what Jesus did, trying

to prove that in that imitation in itself that you can be the

way and therefore the truth and the light.

But Jesus is ultimately saying only I can be the way, the

ultimate truth, the ultimate light, life rather.

And so I think in the frailty of our lives we try to set set our

our surety on other things, lesser things than Jesus.

But He is exhorting his disciples to see that it can

only be found in him, there's powerful significance, and that

we can only know the Father through Jesus.

It's Father's Day, we have examples of earthly fathers

among us, some great. Maybe some of you today have

pain in your memories of your earthly fathers.

And yet even the best Father, the most faithful Father,

they're only meant to be a fragrant aroma of the love of

our heavenly Father. And Jesus's relationship to his

Father is meant to show us that only He can be the way to

knowing God personally. So celebrate your Father's well

and celebrate where they have shown you the aroma of Christ

and the love of God poured out through the love in the hearts

of the sun. So lastly in the Triune God

verses 8 through 11, if Thomas's doubt in that he wanted to have

an unambiguous destination. Philips doubt is more that he

wants assurance in the objects of his faith.

In one sense, Philip and the others truly do know Jesus.

He calls him Lord, but yet he also exclaims Show us the

Father. So they don't fully recognizes

recognize it yet Jesus's response to Philip's question.

Show us the Father. It picks up in verse 10.

It's sort of tinged with a bit of sadness.

Those who have been closest to him, those who he is at table

with, still have yet to see him for who he truly is.

There's a bit of a spiritual blindness to who he is.

It would make sense for those who are distant to him, those

who are his enemies, to not yet understand.

But these are those who are closest to him, and yet they

still have questions. So I think there's a temptation

here to think that the spiritual blindness might only be reserved

for the disciples. And I'll get to why I believe

that there have the spiritual blindness in a second as I

finish. But don't miss the this

temptation of thinking that just being close enough to Jesus

allows you to see him for who he truly is.

I might say for those who just think coming to church, being

close to the church is enough. Checking the box and a rhythm.

It's not even about being in the in crowd or being associated

with the right things. It's about accepting that only

in Christ do we have the sufficiency from his path, from

his death and his resurrection, the power that comes from that,

to have relationship with the Father.

Verse 10 shows us what the disciples ought to have

believed, that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him.

The Father and Son are distinct, and yet they are also unified in

the Godhead. And so thus, as we are in

Christ, we have that imputed to us, transferred to us.

Jesus is not a mere envoy or an ambassador.

He is the Son. Jesus is highlighting this deep

theological principle in the context of a relationship around

the table with his disciples. We will get a chance to remember

that here today as we take the Lord's Supper.

But let me get back to why about the spiritual blindness of the

disciples. The spiritual blindness happens

because the Holy Spirit has not come yet in this part of the

story, in the fullness of what He will.

We just celebrated Pentecost Sunday.

The coming of the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Holy Spirit

will finally enable Jesus disciples to grasp the truth

that they are dimly aware of in this moment.

But let me conclude with thinking about verse 12, because

there's an interesting phrase there about greater works,

Maisona tutan in the Greek. It's confusing because the

disciples had just seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.

They've seen many healings. They're sitting in the presence

of the Savior, and yet he says greater works.

And why do they happen? The text tells us because Jesus

is going to the Father. So what is the difference

between the miracles that Jesus has performed to this point and

what the disciples will do when Jesus has gone to the Father?

What is the difference between those two things that makes

those works greater than the other?

And the answer is actually a simple Sunday school answer.

It's the cross. It's the death and resurrection

of Jesus. When Jesus goes to the Father in

the power of his death and resurrection, he is inaugurating

a new age, a new age of salvation, a new Kingdom through

which greater works are done, not because of the works of the

disciples themselves, because, but because Jesus has now been

glorified. And that in this has a complete

presence of the Godhead in eternity.

Together, united in the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Jesus is able to judge the disciples acts as greater

because of the work he is about to do on the cross.

And everything the disciples will do after the cross are

empowered by the spirits, and they give glory to the Son.

So just as verse 12 asks, I ask you, do you believe in Christ?

Can we enter the works that He has done by faith being in

Christ? And because of the sun's glory,

made known by the Spirit, by faith, we can claim the greater

things that Christ has claimed for us.

Because we are in Christ, we are part of a far greater story, one

that He has been writing since before creation, and He has

invited us into it. Do you see it?

Do you believe it? Let me pray, God, as we have

caught a glimpse of Your word and how you sat around the table

explaining to disciples who You were, even in light of their

spiritual blindness, even in light of their hearts who are

thinking about themselves. Your heart has always been

towards Your people, and now we ask for Your spiritual presence

to be here and Your heart to be on us as we come to Your table

yet again proclaiming what it is that we believe in the power of

the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus.

Use your word to speak and minister.

Minister to us now, this day. And it's in your name that we

pray. Amen.